It’s time for ‘Japan by Prefecture‘ again! This is the series that aims to provide the highlights of each prefecture of Japan, along with my personal favourites and suggestions from readers. This week, we’re looking at Miyagi Prefecture (宮城県). Miyagi Prefecture is part of the Tohoku region (東北地方) in northern Honshu, and its capital city is Sendai (仙台). Last year I … Continue reading
Despite staying three nights in Sendai (仙台) I didn’t get to see all that much of it as I was using it as a base to visit other areas. Still, what I did see of Sendai I liked. It seemed like a very livable city, not too dissimilar to Nagoya really, and it’s certainly a … Continue reading
The following text comes from a newsletter I received from TERP London (the Tohoku Earthquake Relief Project). I wouldn’t usually just copy text from somewhere, but this is important information about ways in which we can still help people living in the Tohoku region of Japan who might be having a less merry Christmas than … Continue reading
Last week’s post was about Daruma (だるま / 達磨), so this week I need to start with ま (ma). A big thank you to everyone who joined in and made suggestions this week. New reader, fromthomas77b, suggested mamushi (まむし / a kind of Japanese snake), nice ideas from lovelycomplex22 – manga (漫画 / Japanese comics) and matsuri (祭り / festivals), japanaustralia suggested matcha (抹茶 / … Continue reading
Folks, I have a plan! Ever since returning to the UK last April, I’ve been listing up the places I want to visit next time I go to Japan. Following the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami in March 2011, I feel drawn to the Tohoku region. At the time of the disaster I didn’t … Continue reading
I swear, if I had the money and if I wasn’t in the middle of looking for a job, I would be calling InsideJapan Tours right now. Why? Because they just advertised a “Volunteer for Japan” package: http://www.insidejapantours.com/japan-small-group-tours/i-vol1/volunteer-for-japan/. Quoting from their Facebook page: How can I volunteer to help the Tohoku relief effort? Among the kind words … Continue reading
Three weeks have passed since the huge earthquake and tsunami hit north-eastern Japan. I’ve not said much on the topic recently as I’ve been getting on with life and trying to make the most of my short time left in Japan (three weeks today I will be on my way back to the UK). However, … Continue reading
It’s been a week since the Tohoku region of Japan got hit by a huge 9.0-magnitude earthquake which triggered a tsunami with waves of up to 10 metres high. Despite what certain media sources would have you believe, most of Japan is now pretty much back to normal. I don’t want to belittle what happened … Continue reading
This will be a short post because I have a lot to do this morning. My life is continuing as usual, see? I would just like to remind everyone of the rough geography of the current situation in Japan: The yellow dot shows approximately where Fukushima Prefecture is. This is where the nuclear power plants … Continue reading
Evening all! Well, I’ve spent my whole day trying to be “normal” and get on with teaching without thinking about earthquakes etc. too much. I just got home around 10pm and decided to catch up on the BBC news while checking my emails when… my apartment began to really shudder. For a split second I … Continue reading
Haikugirl's Japan 